Burns Lake residents may be asked to approve a 9.1 per cent tax increase for the purposes of repairing Eighth Avenue and a portion of Center Street if grant funding for the project is not forthcoming.
At its regular meeting Aug. 11, council narrowly approved a plan that could see the municipality borrow $1,905,839 to repave a two-block portion of Center St. and all of Eighth Avenue starting in 2016. The two-year, $3.3-million project would also see curbs, storm sewers, and catch basins installed along both sections, limited repairs to water infrastructure and road bases, and the creation of one sidewalk along each route.
According to village officials, the tax increase would be required to cover annual debt servicing costs, which have been estimated at $115,635 per year for 25 years.
Earlier this spring, council applied to federal government’s Strategic Priorities Fund for $2.833 million to complete Phase 1 of the Eighth Avenue/Center Street corridor project, which involves the rebuilding of Eighth Avenue from Babine Lake Road to Center Street, and Center Street from Eighth to Tenth avenues. If that application is not approved, council will move forward with the alternative asset management plan approved last week.
That plan, if implemented, will also see the Eighth Avenue/Center Street project eat up the nearly $1 million donation the village received in 2014 from its municipally-owned corporation, Burns Lake Community Forest Ltd.
Council made the contentious decision after reviewing a detailed report from Rick Martin, its director of public works. In that document, Martin recommended that council proceed with full replacement of the road sections identified in Phase 1 of the Eighth Avenue/Center Street corridor project with help from the Strategic Priorities Fund, but scale back the work if grants aren’t available.
Martin’s recommendation, if adopted by council, would have seen the municipality upgrade Center Street from Eighth Avenue to Tenth Avenue, as well as the two-block section of Eighth Avenue from Babine Lake Road to Center, but make fewer repairs to subsurface infrastructure. The option still required the borrowing of approximately $1.6 million in the coming year (with two sidewalks), but utilized only half the BLCF donation and necessitated but a 4.1 per cent tax increase.
During discussions, Martin told council that while all of Eighth Avenue requires work, it is imperative that the section below Center Street be fixed.
“This (section of Eighth Avenue) is just a checkerboard of potholes and cracks and broken asphalt,” Martin noted. “This year alone, we’ve probably spent $5000 just trying to fill potholes enough to keep the trucks flowing in and out of the new hospital with the construction… the water comes tearing down here, comes down the middle of the road, filtrates in the potholes, freezes, and blows everything right out of the ground.”
While these limited repairs would help alleviate infrastructure issues on Eighth Avenue, Martin said the municipality desperately needs infrastructure that will control water run-off along the road’s entire length.
Council quizzed Martin at length on the various options available. After considerable discussion, coun. John Illes moved that the village commit to the more expensive, two-year plan (Alternative Plan 5.1.4) if grant funds aren’t forthcoming. He recommended, though, that only one sidewalk be installed on each of the streets targeted for repair.
The proposal garnered support from coun. Kelly Holliday, but didn’t sit well with coun. Chris Beach.
Although Beach seconded Illes’ motion to facilitate discussion, he was quick to point out that approval of it could have significant financial implications for the municipality. He requested that council be given more time to consider the various options.
“I appreciate that staff really wants to know or needs to know what happens if we don’t get the grant, but frankly, I’m just a little bit uncomfortable making these decisions until we know whether we get the grant or not,” Beach said. “It just makes it a lot more difficult. Having said that, there’s no way I’m going to be supporting a 12 or 10 per cent tax increase. I feel the tax burden is high enough. So despite the need for improving our roads, so I won’t be supporting (Option) 5.1.4.”
Beach’s request of additional time fell on deaf ears. The motion passed by a vote of two (councillors Illes and Holliday) to one (coun. Beach). Councillor Susan Schienbein was not in attendance.
It could be mid-September before the municipality learns if its grant application for Phase 1 of the Eighth Avenue/Center Street corridor project is approved. Mayor Luke Strimbold said after the meeting that if the municipality’s application is denied, council will seek taxpayer support for the alternative asset management plan approved Aug. 11.
If the village is required to borrow funds for the work, it must first pass a borrowing bylaw.
Under B.C.’s Community Charter, that bylaw will require the approval of Burns Lake voters. According to Sheryl Worthing, Chief Administrative Officer for the village, council can seek that approval in a referendum, or utilize an alternative approval process often referred to as “counter petition.”